University ol the State ol New Yorif Bulletin 

Entered a* second-class matter August 2, 1913, at the Post Office at Albany, 

N. Y., under the act of August 24, 1912. Acceptance for mailing at 

special rate of postage provided for in section 1103, act of 

October 3, 1917. authorized July 19, 1918 

Published Fortnightly 



No. 764 



ALBANY, N. Y. 



August 15, 1922 



SPELLING IN NEW YORK 
RURAL SCHOOLS 



A STUDY OF ACHIEVEMENT, OF PRACTICES IN TEACHING 

AND OF METHODS FOR IMPROVING THE TEACHING 

OF SPELLING IN NEW YORK RURAL AND 

VILLAGE SCHOOLS 



J. CAYCE MORRISON 

Specialist in Educational Measurements 



ALBANY 
THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK PRESS 
1922 
G13Sr-D22-10,000(1471)» 



► 



THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 

Regents of the University 
With years when terms expire 

1926 Pliny T. Sexton LL.B., LL.D., Chancellor 

Emeritus ------------ Palmyra 

1934 Chester S. Lord M.A., LL.D., Chancellor - - Brooklyn 

1924 Adelbert Moot LL.D., Vice Chancellor - - - Buffalo 

1927 Albert Vander Veer M.D., M.A., Ph.D., LL.D. Albany 

1925 Charles B. Alexander M.A., LL.B., LL.D., 

Litt. D. ------------- Tuxedo 

1928 Walter Guest Kellogg B.A., LL.D. - - - - Ogdensburg 

1932 James Byrne B.A., LL.B., LL.D. ----- New York 

1929 Herbert L. Bridgman M.A., LL.D. - - - - Brooklyn 
1931 Thomas J. Mangan M.A, ------- Binghamton 

1933 William J. Wallin M.A. ------- Yonkers 

1923 William Bondy M.A., LL.B., Ph.D. - - - - New York 

1930 William P. Baker B.L., Litt. D. - - - - - Syracuse 

President of the University and Commissioner of Education 

Frank P. Graves Ph.D., Litt. D., L.H.D., LL.D. 

Deputy Commissioner and Counsel 

Frank B. Gilbert B.A., LL.D. 

Assistant Commissioner and Director of Professional Education 

Augustus S. Downing M.A., Pd.D., L.H.D., LL.D. 

Assistant Commissioner for Secondary Education 

Charles F. Wheelock B.S., Pd.D., LL.D. 

Assistant Commissioner for Elementary Education 

George M. Wiley M.A., Pd.D., LL.D. 

Director of State Librjiry 

James L Wyer M.L.S., Pd.D. 

Director of Science and State Museum 

John M. Clarke Ph.D., D.Sc, LL.D. 

Chiefs and Directors of Divisions 

Administration, 

Archives and History, James Sullivan M.A., Ph.D. 

Attendance, James D. Sullivan 

Examinations and Inspections, Avery W. Skinner B.A, 

Finance, Clark W. Halliday 

Law, Frank B. Gilbert B.A.. LL.D., Counsel 

Library Extension. William R. "Watson B.S. 

Library School, Edna M. Sanderson B.A., B.L.S. 

Publications, Lloyd L. C?ieney B.A. 

School Buildings and Grounds, Frank H. Wood M.A. 

School Libraries, Sherman Williams Pd.D. 

Visual Instruction, Alfred VV. Abrams Ph.B. 

Vocational and Extension Education, Lewis A. Wilson 

LIBRARY OF CONGF^ESS"' ~1 

RECEIVED L 



JUN4 1923 



University ol tlie State of New Xwl Bulletin 

Entered as second-class matter August 2, 1913, at the Post Office at Albany, 

N. Y., under the act of August 24, 1912. Acceptance for mailing at 

special rate of postage provided for in section 1103, act of 

October 3, 1917, authorized July 19, 1918 

Published Fortnightly 
No. 764 ALBANY, N. Y. August 15, 1922 



SPELLING IN NEW YORK 
RURAL SCHOOLS' 

FOREWORD 

Educational measurement aims at improving the educational treat- 
ment of children. When tests have heen given, the papers scored, 
and reports prepared, the first (luestions that arise are : What are 
we going to do ahout it ? Why were the results as they were ? How 
can we improve? Such questions invariahly lead to a reconsidera- 
tion of sul^ject matter to he used, to efforts aiming at the improve- 
ment of methods of teaching, and to a hetter understanding of the 
individual needs of children to he taught. 

The State Education Department is indehted to the 100 superin- 
tendents and 5000 teachers who gave the tests and suhmitted the 
results to the central office. Only through such fine, painstaking 
cooperation could we see the spelling prohlem of New York rural 
and village schools as it really is. The 204 teachers who descrihed 
in detail their methods and practices of teaching spelling have helped 
us to see certain reasons for the results achieved and have given us 
a guide to further endeavor. 

Fortunately, during the past 25 years and particularly during the 
last decade a great deal of experimental work has been done in the 
teaching of spelling. A socially worth-while spelling curriculum 
has been determined. Experiments have indicated and in some cases 
proved that certain methods of teaching gain much better results 
than other methods. The section of this report devoted to ' Sug- 
gestions for the Teaching of Spelling " has drawn freely from recent 
pu])lications based on experimental study. So far as possible, in 
every case reference has been made to the original source so that 

^ Including schools in villages having under 4500 population nominally under 
the supervision of district superintendents. 

[3] 









the reader might find what experimental evidence justified the sug- 
gestion or recommendation made. 

Many workers have contributed to the preparation of this report. 
Particularly we would mention Miss Minnie D. Pitcher, a student 
of educational measurements in the summer session of the State 
College for Teachers, who very skilfully analyzed the teachers' 
reports of practices in teaching of spelling ; and Mr E. B. Richards, 
specialist in English, State Education Department, who critically read 
the manuscript and assisted in preparing the section on " Suggestions 
for Teaching Spelling." 

With such splendid cooperation from everyone concerned, the 
preparation of this report has been a real pleasure. We trust that 
it will prove of real use to all those who made its preparation possible. 



[4] 



A STUDY OF SPELLING ACHIEVEMENT 

Early attempts to use the Ayres Spelling Scale in New York rural 
schools showed two needs. First, the need for a test or scale which 
could be used to test the children of all grades in one room at a single 
period ; this was imperative, if the test was to be administered by 
the district superintendent, who, at the best, can visit each school 
but seldom and must do many things at each visit in addition to 
giving tests. Second, many superintendents wanted a test that 
they could put into the hands of teachers with a fair assurance that 
the results of their testing would be usable. As an attempt to meet 
these two demands, the New York State Spelling Scales- were 
prepared. 

How the Scales Were Made 

Three scales equivalent in difficulty have been prepared. Each 
scale consists of 50 words selected from the Buckingham Extension 
of the Ayres Scale. They range in difficulty from words so easy 
that more than 90 per cent of second grade children spell them 
correctly to words so difficult that 50 per cent of first year high school 
pupils misspell them. On each scale approximately 45 words are 
contained in the original Ayres Scale^ while the additional five 
words* are from the Buckingham Extension.^ The words from the 
Buckingham Extension were further checked against the Thorndike 
word list and only those included which are found in the 5000 words 
most used in English writing.^ For each scale, from one to three 
words were taken from each column C to AB inclusive — one word 
only was taken from the shorter columns, two or three words from 
each of the longer columns. The words were arranged in order of 
difficulty, the easiest word first and the most difficult word last. 
The difficulty of each word was calculated from the Buckingham 
Extension of the Ayres Scale, and from these data was determined 
the average number of words per scale that have been spelled cor- 



2 Prof. William A. McCall of Teachers College, Columbia University 
assisted in preparing the scales. 

3 Ayres Scale for Measuring Ability in Spelling (the 1000 words most used 
in the English language), Russell Sage Foundation, New York, N. Y. 

4 This number ranges from 4 to 6 on scales A, B and C and may be slightly 
larger on the scales to be prepared. 

5 Buckingham Extension of the Ayres Spelling Scale (contams the Ayres 
Scale plus 505 words chosen "according to their agreements among spellmg 
books"). Public School Publishing Co., Bloomington, 111. 

6 Thorndike. The Teacher's Word Book. (Contains the 10,000 words most 
used in the English language). Bureau of Publications, Columbia University, 
New York, N. Y. 

[5] 



recth^ by children in the cities which furnished data for standardizing 
the Ay res Scale and Buckingham Extension of the Ay res Scale. 
These scales can be used in grades 2 to 9 inclusive, although they 
will proljably give best results in grades 3 to 8. 

Directions for Giving the Test 

No standardized test has any meaning apart from the conditions 
under which it is given. Directions for giving any test should 
create an atmosphere where children will be at ease and put forth 
their best effort without worry. To achieve such a condition 
directions must l)e simple, clear and so prei)ared that there will be 
no danger of the examiner's changing or forgetting them. To 
attain this latter end, examiners were required to read the instruc- 
tions to pupils. In order to reduce error from misunderstanding 
of pronunciation, a sentence was prepared to illustrate the meaning 
or use of each word. The examiner was instructed to pronounce 
each word, read the sentence containing it and pronounce the word 
a second time, as follows: " run The boy can run run." 

Directions for Scoring the Tests 
In order to eliminate differences of o])inion as to scoring, the 
following rules were ])repared : 

1 Mark each word either right or wrong. 

2 Where two or more s])ellings are allowed for a word by any 
standard dictionary, count either spelling as correct. 

3 Count as wrong if the letter " t " is not crossed, unless it be a 
special final t construction, or if the letter " i " does not have a dot. 

4 Do not give credit for spelling words not pronounced; for 
example, " tops " for the word " top " or " men " for the word 
" man." 

5 If a child attempts to rewrite a word, consider the obvious 
intention of the child as the spelling to be scored. . 

Error in the use of ca])ital letters was not covered in the directions. 
This point needs to be adjusted in later editions of the directions 
sheet. 

Giving the Tests 

^\'hen the scales were first prepared, a copy of Scale A was sent 
to each district superintendent in the State, with the suggestion that 
the State Education Department would be glad to furnish a copy for 
each teacher under the superintendent's direction on condition that 
the class record sheets be returned to the Department. One hundred 
thirty superintendents sent in requisitions. In some cases the. tests 

[6] 



were given by the stiperintendents during their regular visits. Other 
superintendents called their teachers together, generally during 
regular conference periods, and explained the giving of the tests, 
while still others mailed the scales to their teachers with instructions 
to follow the directions given. Papers were scored by the class- 
room teachers, and in many cases they were reviewed by the super- 
intendent who made summary reports to send back to his teachers. 
The class record sheets (section A containing the name, age in years, 
grade, and score of each child; section B. the distribution of scores 
by grades ; and section C, the distribution of scores by age groups) 
as made out by each teacher were sent by the superintendent to the 
office of educational measurements in the State Education Depart- 
ment at Albany. 

Tabulating the Results 

All class record sheets were checked to make sure that the dis- 
tribution on sections B and C agreed with the original entry of data 
on section A. Record sheets were then arranged by supervisory 
districts into three classes: one-teacher schools, two-teacher and 
three-teacher schools, and schools having four or more teachers. 
In making this classification, it was intended that the latter group 
should consist of schools having four or more teachers in the ele- 
mentary grades. In many instances the data at hand did not indicate 
clearly whether the four teachers gave their whole time to elementary 
grades. Doubtful cases were classed as two-teacher or three-teacher 
schools. This plan was followed in order that a fair comparison 
might be made between achievement in one-room and graded village 
schools having not more than two grades to any one teacher. Of 
course the big majority of teachers in the latter group had only one 
grade. 

What the Study Represents 

The tests were given in some supervisory districts as early as 
January and in others as late as May. The average represented 
spelling achievement for the month of March. The reports sent 
in and tabulated represent 44 counties, 85 supervisory districts, the 
work of more than 4000 classroom teachers, and achievement of 
nearly 60,000 pupils. With few exceptions the 85 district super- 
intendents reporting obtained results from practically every teacher 
in their respective districts for grades 2 to 8 inclusive. Many also 
sent in returns for grade 9. In other words, the averages given 
in this report represent spelling achievement in 76 per cent of the 
counties of the .State, 41 per cent of the supervisory districts, the 
work of approximately 30 per cent of teachers and 20 per cent of 

[7] 



pupils under the general supervision of district superintendents. It 
is fairly representative of spelling achievement in the rural and 
village schools of the State at large. In addition to the above, 4 
superintendents sent in their reports after the tables were finished, 
and 9 other superintendents sent in summarized reports showing the 
grade averages for each school in their respective districts. There- 
fore, in all, 98 or 47. 1 per cent of the 208 supervisory districts were 
represented in this study. 

Tables 4, 5 and 6 of the appendix give the average scores by 
grades for each supervisory district according to the type of school. 
Table 7 gives similar data for the 9 districts whose superintendents 
sent in summarized reports, but did not send the class record sheets 
from their several schools. A study of these tables shows a con- 
siderable range in the average grade achievement of the several dis- 
tricts. For the one-room schools (table 4) the eighth grade averages 
ranged from 38.6 to 45.9. In the lower grades the range was even 
greater; for the third grade of one-room schools it was from 12.4 
to 23.4; for the second grade it was from 5.7 to 17.2. 

Table 1 shows the number of supervisory districts represented in 
each type of school, the number of pupils tested in each type, the 
average scores by grades for each type of school and for all schools 
combined. 

Table 1 
Spelling achievement by grades 

Showing how all schools combined compared with norms derived from the Ayres 
Scale, and how one-teacher, two-teacher and three-teacher and graded village schools as 
types compared one with another and with Ayres norms. scnoois as 

T,.>, t , , .^"-.^f ^°- ^f Average score^ for arade 

Type of school districts pupils 2 3 4 >* ^'"■"^'= ^''^^ oyie ^ ^ 

Y^'^f^^ 83 29 827 9.7 16.6 23.1 29.0 33.7 37 8 414 43 2 

2-0 teacher 63 8 863 11.3 18.9 25.3 29.6 35 2 397 42S a\ ± 

t°{."'°'^ 51 18 879 12.1 18.3 24.6 30 2 35.8 400 43'l 44'7 

N. \. S. norms 85 57 569 10.8 17.8 24.2 29.5 34 7 390 422 43 S 

No^Ssre'?elhe;Vchooisfeili>eiow '■' '' '■' '■' ^.3 2.0 1.8 2.5 
village scho ols 2.4 1.7 1.5 1.2 2.1 2.2 1.7 1.5 

^ Score is average number of words spelled correctly. 

The Ayres standards or norms were obtained from testing approxi- 
mately 70,000 children in 84 cities of the United States. Since the 
Ayres Scale was first published, the 1000 words it contains have been 
incorporated into many of the newer spelling books and the teaching 
of them has been emphasized in various ways. It would be reason- 
able to expect a higher average achievement on lists of words from 
the Ayres Scale in 1922 than was obtained previous to 1915.^ 

' Date of first publication of Ayres Spelling Scale. 

[8J 



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[9] 



Moreover, the Ayres norms represent approximately midyear 
achievement whereas the New York norms represent average 
achievement near the middle of the second semester. With both of 




XpDajjoD paipds spjoAV jo jaquinu 33bj3av 



these factors favoring a higher achievement in New York tests, the 
latter's record is consistently lower than the Ayres standard in every 
grade and each t}pe of school. In New York, the average grade 
scores for one-teacher schools were lower in every case than the 

[10] 



average grade scores for two-teacher and three-teacher schools or 
for graded village schools ; and with the exception of grades 3 and 
4. the scores for village schools were higher than for two-room and 
three-room schools. The combined grade scores for all New York 
schools tested ranged from 1.8 words to 5.2 words less than the 
Ayres standards. This represents approximately one-half year or 
grade below standard for each grade. The average grade scores for 
one-room schools ranged from 1.5 to 2.4 points below the grade 
scores for village graded schools ; or an average of approximately 
one-third grade below. The scores for one-room schools were 
approximately four-fifths of a grade lower than the Ayres standards. 
In brief, the average spelling scores obtained in New York schools 
were consistently lower than the Ayres standards for every type of 
school studied ; and the achievement of one-room schools was con- 
siderably lower than that for village schools having four or more 
teachers. These facts stand forth even more vividly in chart 1. 

Grade scores are not always a sufficient basis on which to make 
comparisons between different types of schools. The average age 
of pupils in each grade is an important factor. For those super- 
visory districts which sent in teachers' reports, a distribution of 
scores by age groups was made. Table 2 shows the average score 
achieved by each age group in each of the three types of schools. 

• 
Table 3 



Number 


of pupils of 


each 


age group 


in 


each type 


of school 


Age 






Type 


of 


School 




group 


4-room 




2-3 room 






l-roor,i 


Total 


6 


289 




79 






293 


661 


7 


1 162 




466 






1 380 


3 008 


8 


1 991 




780 






2 834 


5 60S 


9 


2 369 




1 098 






3 722 


7 189 


10 


2 416 




1 190 






4 194 


7 800 


11 


2 469 




1 187 






4 244 


7 900 


12 


2 494 




1 225 






4 132 


7 851 


13 


2 256 




1 090 






3 829 


7 175 


14 


1 8S9 




874 






3 029 


5 762 


IS 


1 126 




494 






1 781 


3 401 


16 


332 




127 






325 


784 


17 


85 




39 






55 


179 


18 


6 




10 




- 


6 


22 




18 854 




8 659 


29 824 


57 337 






Conclusions 









The number of pupils tested, the number of teachers contributing, 
and the per cent of supervisory districts involved give a fairly 
accurate picture of spelling achievement for the State's rural schools 
in the open country and in villages under 4500 population. In 
reality it presents the approximate situation for more than 300,000 
children or 20 per cent of the State's elementary school enrolment. 
It means that New York's schools in rural supervisory districts are 

[11] 



attaining a spelling achievement approximately one-half grade or 
year less than American city school systems attained 7 years ago; 
and, furthermore, that the achievement in one-room schools is much 
lower than for the neighboring graded village schools having four 
or more teachers. 



Chart 2. Showing how the one-room and graded village schools compared with 
each other and with the average for the three groups combined. (Comparison 
made on basis of average age scores.) 



• 
































.yd 


A 
































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<frt 




















^ 


• 




* # 


tf 


• • • 








1 • ^ 


















<i 





















3« 


« ■ 

1 

14-1 

° 1 








^ 


<y* 

* 
















»« 


1 

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y^ 
y y 

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S. 


rt*'f 


^ 


«0 


^ 


» 
































^ 


L 




1 


s 


^ 


/ 


/ 


( / 


a / 


3 


/ 


*■ 


/• 


rf- 


/ 


fc ' 


7 'J 


? 



Age Groups 
All rural and village schools combined. 



Graded village schools with 4 or more teachers. 

. One-room rural schools. 



The facts given in tables 1 and 2 raise important questions. 

1 Do these smaller schools have as good a spelling curriculum as 
have city school systems? 

2 Are the teachers in these smaller schools as well prepared for 
teaching spelling as teachers in larger school systems? 

3 Does the teacher in these smaller schools have supervision that 
helps her to improve her methods of teaching? 

[12] 



4 In these smaller schools does the good teacher have the best 
textbooks and other teaching helps that are available to the good 
teacher in city schools? 

5 Why was the achievement in one-room schools so much less 
than in graded schools under the direction of the same superin- 
tendent ? 

The splendid records attained in certain schools and supervisory 
districts give assurance that teachers and superintendents responsible 
for the success of pupils in rural schools will find a satisfactory 
answer to the foregoing questions. 

The remainder of this report analyzes the practices that have 
gained best results in New York rural and village schools and pro- 
poses methods whereby teachers may contribute to improving the 
spelling opportunities of boys and girls in these schools. 



PRACTICES IN SPELLING IN NEW YORK STATE 
RURAL AND VILLAGE SCHOOLS 

Measurement of pupil achievement is of value only in so far as it 
brings about a better educational treatment of the children measured. 
This report will be of little worth unless it tends to increase the 
interest of teachers and pupils in the subject of spelling, to bring 
about a better understanding, of practices which gain good results, 
and to improve the methods of teaching spelling throughout the 
rural and village schools of the State. 

When the spelling tests were sent to district superintendents five 
copies of " Form 12 — Practice in Spelling in Public Schools of 
New York State " were sent to each superintendent with the request 
that he have them filled out by the five teachers in his district who 
secured the best results on the tests. Two hundred four replies 
were received; these represented 34 counties and 47 supervisory 
districts of the State. 

More than 90 per cent of the 204 reports were from teachers who 
taught spelling to two or more grades. Approximately 15 per cent 
of those reporting had all grades represented in their school ; but the 
majority of them had so grouped pupils that they had less than seven 
spelling classes to be taught. The median number of grades repre- 
sented in the spelling classes of these 204 teachers was 4.83. This 
report in reality represents conditions in the better one-room and 
two-room schools of the State. 

Eighty per cent of the teachers reported that their upper grade 
classes recited in spelling five times a week. There was a tendency 

[13] 



for lower grade classes to recite oftener: 17 per cent reported that 
second and third grade classes recited ten or more times each week. 
The number of minutes a week devoted to spelling recitation ranged 
from 25 to 75. The median number of minutes a week devoted to 
recitation ranged from 50 in the third grade to 69 in the eighth grade. 
The number of minutes given to recitation and study combined varied 
widely in each grade : for grades 4 to 8, the range was from 25 
to 400 minutes. The median number of minutes a week reported 
ranged from 118 in the second grade to 150 in grades 7 and 8. 

Seventy- four per cent of the 204 teachers reported that they 
encouraged home study in spelHng. Only 15 per cent required home 
study. 

The source of word lists taught has an important bearing in any 
consideration of the teaching of spelling. According to teachers' 
reports, their word lists were selected from the following sources 
approximately as follows : 75 per cent from the spelling textbooks, 
11 per cent from reading of other lessons, 10 per cent from words 
misspelled in the children's composition or written work, and 4 per 
cent from specially prepared lists. 

Ninety-six per cent of these teachers reported that they gave 
special attention to the teaching of spelling in connection with other 
subjects. Fifty-three per cent required each child to keep for drill 
purposes a list of the words which he had previously misspelled. 

Twenty-one different spelling textbooks and the " List of Words 
for the State Spelling Contest " were used by this group of 204 
teachers. Below are given the names of all spelling textbooks used 
in two or more of the 204 schoolrooms. 

No. schools 

No. schools using as one 

Name of textbook with date of publication using exclusively of 2 or 3 texts 

Alton's Descriptive Speller (1901) 2 

Boyce & Sherman: Aldine Speller (1916) 1 1 

Alexander: A Spelling Book (1906, 1918) 8 

Hicks: Champion Spelling Book (1909) 117 14 

Lewis: The Common Word Speller (1921) 5 

Wilson & Winship: The Merrill Speller (1912) 15 3 

Pearson & Suzzallo: Essentials of Spelling (19i5) 6 2 

Pierce: Pierce Speller (1912) 4 2 

Rice's Rational Spelling Book (1898) 2 1 

Shear & Lynch: Baldwin Speller (1903) 1 6 

List of Words for the State Fair Spelling Contest 9 7 

No textbooks used S 

The above list of textbooks should not necessarily be considered 
the best list of spelling texts published. It is given here merely as a 
record of the tools used by teachers whose pupils did gain good 
results on the New York State Spelling Scales. 

Seventeen per cent of the group reported that the course of study 
provided a minimum list of words to be taught; but very little 
information was secured as to how these minimum lists were selected 
or prepared. 

[14] 



The influence of the " List of Words for the State Fair SpelHng 
Contest "** was evident from the repHes. Six teachers did not say 
whether they used the hst or not; 53 did not use it. More than 70 
per cent of the group reported that they used the hst. Two used 
it as low as the second grade; and 12 others began using it in the 
fourth grade. Nine teachers had no other textbook for spelling. 
The average teacher l^egan using the list in the second half of the 
sixth grade. For the 114 teachers who estimated the proportional 
part of the year they devoted to this word test, the median time was 
21.9 per cent; that is, the average teacher who uses this list 
devotes to it about one-fifth of the school year. A small number 
of teachers reported that they used this hst as a basis for weekly 
and monthly reviews, particularly for oral reviews or spelhng 
matches. 

The number of words assigned to the daily spelling lesson ranged 
all the way from 2 to 75. The average number of words assigned 
daily, however, ranged from about 10 in the second and third grades 
to about 18 in the eighth grade. Only 159 teachers reported the 
number of new words taught daily. The average for the lower 
grades was 5, and for the upper grades was 10. 

Fifty-four per cent of the teachers reported that they tested 
children on the words of the spelling lesson [before they attempted to 
study them. Ninety-two per cent said they tested pupils with words 
in dictated exercises. 

Methods of teaching new words were described by 177 teachers. 
The dozen methods most often mentioned and the number of teachers 
reporting each one are as follows : 

1 Giving synonym or definition 85 

2 Using the word in a sentence 83 

3 Pronouncing the word (sometimes by syllables) IZ 

4 Dividing the word into syllables 55 

5 Placing emphasis on special difficulties, e. g. silent letters 35 

6 Using dictionary 25 

7 Giving special attention to accents and diacritical marks 24 

8 Securing correct pronunciation from pupils 16 

9 Writing word on board (sometimes in colors) 16 

10 Having pupils spell orally 15 

1 1 Having" pupils write words while in class 11 

12 Pointing out application of special rules 10 

The several methods listed involve three fundamental principles : 
(a) helping the child to understand the meaning of the word before 
he is left to study it by himself; (^) helping the child to visualize 
the correct form of the word; and (r) encouraging the child to be 
resourceful in his attempt to learn new words. 



s This list is sometimes spoken of as the Regents 5000 Word List. 

[151 



31 



28 
11 



One hundred eighty-one teachers reported methods of reviewing 
old words. Three methods were most used : regular reviews, con- 
tests or oral spelling matches, reviewing words included in daily 
lesson. The following is an inclusive outline of methods reported: 
1 Regular reviews 87 

a Written 35 

weekly 8 

monthly 6 

miscellaneous 21 

h Oral 15 

weekly 7 

miscellaneous 8 

c Type of review not indicated 37 

weekly 24 

miscellaneous 13 

2 Contests (including spelling games) 

weekly 6 

miscellaneous 25 

3 Reviewing words included in daily lesson 

4 Words used in sentences 

dictated by teacher 9 

pupil uses in original, sentence 2 

5 Plan outlined in textbook 7 

6 Teacher keeps record of misspelled words 

and uses them for review 7 

7 Pupil keeps notebook of misspelled words 5 

8 Words misspelled in other subjects used in 

spelling review lessons 2 

9 Miscellaneous 3 
In making the above analysis, it was often difficult to distinguish 

between the oral review listed as l-h and the contest listed as 2. 
There was considerable question as to whether the differentiation was 
justified. Those explanations which appeared to stress contest or 
spelling match were listed under 2 ; those that stressed reviews were 
tabulated under \-h. 

Distribution of time between oral and written spelling ranged all 
the way from 100 per cent to oral spelling and none to written to the 
opposite extreme of 100 per cent to written spelling and no time to 
oral spelling. The distribution was bimodal : 57 teachers reported 
a 50-50 distribution; 30 reported 25 per cent of the time to oral 
spelling and 75 per cent to written spelling; 37 reported a distribu- 
tion of 20 per cent to oral and 80 per cent to written. The average 
distribution was approximately 25 per cent to oral spelling and 75 

[16] 



per cent to written work. Those teachers who reported the larger 
percentage of time to oral spelling invariably taught lower grades 
exclusively; while a few upper grade teachers devoted their entire 
spelling period to written work. 

One hundred forty-two teachers reported rules which they taught 
in connection with spelling. Following are the rules given and the 
number of teachers who reported them: 

1 e follows X except after c or when pronounced as c 55 

(a) e follows t except after c 36 

(b) e follows t except when pronounced as o 1 

2 Final silent e preceded by a consonant is usually dropped before a 

suffix beginning with a vowel 34 

3 Monosyllables and words accented on the last syllable ending in a single 

consonant preceded by a single vowel double the final consonant when 
adding a suffix beginning with a vowel 24 

4 Words ending in 3; : 

(o) Nouns ending in y preceded by a consonant form their plural by 

changing y \.o i and adding es 22 

(&) Words ending in y preceded by a consonant change y to i before 

a suffix beginning with any other letter than i 30 

5 Rules for plurals (no special rules indicated) 35 

(a) The plural of a few nounsi ending in / or je is formed by changing 

/ or fe to ves 7 

(6) Nouns ending in s, sh, ch, x or 3 form plural by adding es 4 

(c) Some nouns ending in preceded by a consonant form the plural 

by adding es 3 

6 Words ending in ce or ge retain the e before a suffix beginning with 

a or 3 

7 Words ending in ie drop e and change » to y before ing 4 

8 Miscellaneous 3 

Sixty-seven per cent of the teachers reported that they consciously 
attempted definite instruction in how to study spelling. Nearly 
half of the 67 per cent made no clear distinction between methods 
of assigning lesson and instruction in how to study. The reports 
of the remaining 70 teachers are summarized below : 

Methods used No. teachers reporting 

1 Have pupils write words 24 

2 Have pupils divide words into syllables when studying 18 

3 Have pupils try to recall how the word was sounded 12 

4 Have pupils visualize word before studying 10 

5 Pupils directed to study unfamiliar words 7 

6 Pupils taught how to use dictionary in learning new words 3 

7 Have pupils glance at word, close eyes, visualize word, glance again, 

write 3 

8 Write the words in sentences 3 

9 Pupils taught to apply rules 3 

10 Concentration on spelling of word while writing it 2 

Only eleven teachers reported any definite method of supervising 
pupils' study of spelling. Ninety teachers who attempted to answer 
the question showed that they had no conception of the real problems 
involved in supervising pupils' study. 

[17] 



P2ighty-three per cent of teachers reporting had not used the Ayres 
Scale Ijefore in their work. 

Summary — Practices of the Average Teacher 

A review of the preceding pages gives a fairly complete picture 
of the practices followed and methods used by the average teacher 
whose pupils attained good results on the New York State Spelling 
Scales. 

This average teacher has her pupils so grouped that she has not 
more than five spelling classes. Each class recites five times each 
week. The length of the spelling recitation ranges from about 10 
minutes for the second and third grade to about 14 minutes for the 
eighth grade. The total school time devoted to study and recitation 
of spelling ranges from 120 minutes for the second grade to 150 
minutes for the eighth. The teacher encourages home study of 
spelling but does not require it. 

The words she teaches are selected from four general sources 
approximately as follows : 75 per cent from the spelling textbook, 
11 per cent from other school subjects. 10 per cent from misspelled 
words in children's composition and other written work, and 4 per 
cent from other word lists. The teacher makes a special point of 
teaching spelling in connection with other school subjects and she 
often requires the children to keep a list of the words they misspell 
for future study. She uses whatever textbook has been provided. 
During the second half of the sixth grade she begins using the " List 
of Words for the State Fair Spelling Contest " and from then on 
till they leave the elementary school, her pupils give about one-fifth 
of their time to a study of this list. One of the most efifective uses 
she makes of this list is as a basis for oral reviews and spelling 
matches. 

The average lesson contains about 5 new words in the lower grades 
and as many as 10 in the upper grades. Each lesson also contains 
as many more review words. About half the time the teacher tests 
the pupils with the new words and then has them study the ones they 
can not spell. Often she dictates exercises containing the words to 
be spelled. Her favorite methods of teaching new words are : to 
give synonym or definition, to use the word in a sentence, to pro- 
nounce the word, to divide it into syllables, and to emphasize the 
special difficulties. She has regular reviews, sometimes by including 
words from previous lessons in the new assignment, by weekly and 
monthly reviews, and by oral contests. On the average she gives 
about 25 per cent of the time to oral spelling and about 75 per cent 
to written: this ratio varies from grade to grade. In the lower 

[18] 



grades the proportion to oral spelling is greater ; while in the upper 
grades it is less. She teaches a few simple rules that have a wide 
application; for example, c follows i except after c or when pro- 
nounced as a, and the rules for words ending in y. This average 
teacher would like to teach pupils how to study spelling, but she has 
not learned any special method or technic for so doing. She has 
given very little thought to supervising pupils' study of spelling, and 
has not learned to what advantage she might use standardized spell- 
ing scales as a means of improving the product of her teaching. 

SUGGESTIONS FOR THE TEACHING OF SPELLING 

During the past 20 years a great many experiments have been 
tried to determine what methods and procedure give best results 
in the teaching of spelling. The following discussion is based on 
reports of experimental investigation. Wherever a quotation is 
given or a statement made the autliority is indicated by giving in 
parenthesis the initial letter of the author's name and the page of his 
publication. Reference to the bibliography at the end of this bulletin 
will guide the reader to the source of information underlying the 
given suggestion. Recommendations are made and discussed under 
three general headings : time allotment, source of spelling lists, and 
methods. 

. Time Allotment 

Apparently " no correlation exists between the score attained by 
the different teachers and the amount of time devoted to the teaching 
of spelling" (W-78). "The amount of time required depends 
somewhat upon the method l)ut it should certainly not exceed 75 
minutes per week. This allotment should provide for both study 
and recitation" (H-59). Tidyman says, "Results show that the 
amount of time spent is not the most important factor of the situa- 
tion. Of far greater importance is the way in which the time is 
spent." Our own New York study verifies the above statements. 
The verv fact that teachers who allowed less than 50 minutes a week 
to the combined study and recitation of spelling secured as good 
results as teachers who allowed more than 300 minutes indicates that 
the time allotment must have a very limited influence. All the evi- 
dence of this report indicates that there is no excuse for more than 
five spelling recitation periods a week. The value of reducing the 
total number of recitations in the rural school is a generally accepted 
principle. If spelling has been well taught in the lower and the 
intermediate elementary grades, the number of spelling recitations 
in the upper grades might easily be reduced to four, three or even 

[19] 



two : the number should be determined by use of standard tests from 
time to time. " Further, it is possible that we may find upon more 
extended investigation that more time and effort should be concen- 
trated in the lower intermediate grades, where the growth in spelling 
efficiency is most rapid" (T-136). The foregoing suggestion is 
particularly appropriate when we consider how many boys and girls 
fail to enter the eighth grade of the elementary school. 

Source of Spelling Lists 

The chief value of spelling lies in its application to writing. 
Investigations have shown that people's writing vocabularies are 
much smaller than their reading vocabularies. " Jones places the 
average writing vocabulary of the eighth grade child at about 2500 
words. Another investigation states that the average number of 
words used by the high school graduate is not more than 4000" 
(T-9). These facts have a considerable bearing on the number of 
words to be taught and on the question of how they shall be selected. 
" Thus it appears that a writing vocabulary of 4000 or 5000 words 
is adequate for the most exacting and varied demands that are likely 
to be made upon the average child, and that the thorough teaching 
of 3000 to 3500 carefully selected words is about all that should be 
expected of the elementary school; provided, that in addition the 
child is taught how and when to use the dictionary " (T-9). 

Our own study has shown that the better teachers of the rural and 
village schools draw about 75 per cent of their word lists from the 
regular textbook. The less successful teachers very likely depend 
even more upon the regular textbook. For this reason, school super- 
intendents should exercise the greatest care in seeing that the best 
spelling textbooks attainable are placed in the hands of teachers and 
pupils. Investigations made during the last decade have shown 
pretty conclusively what words are most used in writing vocabularies. 
The spelling textbook should be based upon the results of these 
investigations. The word lists should be graded (a) according to 
their difficulty, (b) according to their social worth to the child at 
time of learning. The book should both in its arrangement of word 
lists and in its instructions to teachers cover the most economical 
methods of learning. The authors of a number of the newer spelling 
textbooks have attempted to utilize the above principles in making 
their books. Superintendents will find a comprehensive set of 
criteria for use in selecting textbooks in Horn's " Principles of 
methods in spelling " as given in the Eighteenth Yearbook, part II. 

Two of Horn's principles are useful guides to teachers for select- 
ing words from other subjects : " Those words which are commonly 

[20] 



used by the children in any given grade should be placed in that 
grade." " Those words needed in other subjects should be taught 
in appropriate grades" (H-57). The better rural teachers, on the 
average, select more than 10 per cent of the words they teach from 
other school subjects. 

The better teachers also select another 10 per cent of the words 
they teach from children's written composition or other work. 
Different teachers follow different methods of selecting such words. 
The following principles are helpful guides toward improving spell- 
ing in written work : " Insist on careful spelling in all written work 
and religiously correct spelling errors. It does not suffice merely to 
mark the errors. The pupil must be led to regard errors as serious 
and should learn thoroughly the words which he misses" (H-64). 
" Those words which are most commonly used in correspondence 
should be taught earliest, on the ground that the school must insure 
the correct spelling of such zvords before the elimination of pupils 
becomes serious" (H-57). "Better provision should be made to 
insure that each child ivork on his own special difficulties and no 
others. There is clearly no economy in requiring a child to spend 
time on words which he now can spell correctly and which he will 
continue to spell correctly in any number of consecutive trials " 
(H-60). "Each child should give special attention to those words 
which are specially missed by him" (H-62). For carrying the 
above principle into effect, Mr Woody offers the following helpful 
suggestions : " On the back of each paper indicate the number of 
misspelled words. Require each child to learn, according to the 
method indicated below, each word so missed, and that he write the 
correct spelling on the back of the paper. He should also write each 
misspelled word in his individual spelling record book to serve as a 
basis for his individual reviews. In addition, the paper with the 
words correctly spelled on the back should be handed to the class 
secretary who may be elected each week. The class secretary should 
copy into the class spelling record book all of the words missed in 
the lesson, giving dates and the names of the pupils who missed each 
word. All of the words missed by 25 per cent or more of the class 
should be incorporated into the class spelling list. Individual lists 
should contain (1) all commonly used words which the teacher has 
had to spell for the child, (2) all words which he needed in his writ- 
ing and had to look up in the dictionary, and (3) all words misspelled 
in his written work " (W-79). 

In the teaching of spelling, probably the best thing the teacher can 
do for upper grade children is to train them in the mastery of new 
words and of their own spelling difficulties. They need to learn to 

[21] 



spell without the teacher's help. The pupil's own spelling notebook 
wisely used is a valuable aid toward this end. 

There are other sources from which valuable word lists may be 
made. The child needs to know the vocabulary of his own com- 
munity. Mr Pittman in chapter 11 of '' Successful Teaching in Rural 
Schools " describes how one school spent a month making its own 
spelling book from words used to describe the " historical, agricul- 
tural and social interests " of the county in which the school was 
situated. Such a study not only increases interest in spelling but 
interest in the community as well. 

The average New York teacher in rural and village schools begins 
using the '" List of Words for the State Fair Spelling Contest " about 
the second half of the sixth grade. JMany teachers reported that 
they used the list much earlier, a few as low as the second grade. 
Considerable care was exercised in preparing the first part of the 
list comprising nearly 3000 words; but the list as now printed is 
designed primarily for use at the State Fair spelling bee, and is 
printed and distributed under the auspices of the State Department 
of Farms and Markets. The list has been checked against Thorn- 
dike's list of 10.000 words most commonly used in the English lan- 
guage (Th). Excluding the proper geographical names on pages 
10 and 1 1. about 80 per cent of the list is to be found in the list of 
10,000 words people use most in writing, and less than 60 per cent 
of the list is contained in the 5000 words most commonly used. The 
State Education Department does not now consider it a valid teaching 
list: first, because too large a percentage of the second part of the 
list, pages 11—16, consists of words that the average person seldom 
uses in writing and children should learn to spell first those words 
that are most commonly used ; second, the words are not graded 
according to difficulty so that in using the list, some children are 
studying words entirely too difficult, while others are wasting time 
on words they already know. This 5000 word list serves only one 
useful purpose — it is a good supplementary list for children to use 
outside of class in preparing for spelling contests. In no case should 
it be used as a teaching list. 

Methods 
1 How many words should be taught per lesson in each grade? 

Most of the experimental workers are in fairly close agreement with 
Mr Woody who recommended the following as the maximum num- 
ber of words, old and new, that should be taught per lesson (W-79) : 



Grade 


0/rf zvords 


A^tt 


' zi'ords 


Tola 


1 


No regular spelling lessons 








2 


3 




2 


5 


3 


3 




3 


6 


4 


4 




3 


7 


5 


4 




4 


8 


6 


6 




4 


10 


7 


6 




4 


10 


8 


6 




4 


10 



Of course, some variation will be made liecause of different cir- 
cumstances ; but it is quite agreed among all students of the teaching 
of spelling that assigning 10, 15 or more new words per lesson is 
not conducive to the best spelling achievement. While the recom- 
mendation here given may seem to be a very slow method of gaining 
a spelling vocabulary, the teacher can quickly calculate that it gives 
the child a spelling vocabulary of considerably more than 4000 words. 
The calculation is based on the assumption that spelling is taught 
daily. 

2 " Test all words before teaching. This will make it possible 
for each pupil to work on those words which he has missed. Pupils 
vary so widely in their ability to spell the words of a given lesson 
that to teach each child each word involves a great loss for all. In 
a recent experirnent with sixth grade pupils this variation in the 
ability to spell and learn a given list was so great that the waste from 
teaching each child each word would have amounted to over 75 
per cent" (H-60). " Contrary to ivliat is often said, initial errors 
mode on tliese preliminary tests do not persist. Reasoning from the 
importance of primacy in habit formation, writers on spelling have 
long made a point of the importance of avoiding misspellings. If 
test errors tend to persist, the tendency is apparently offset by im- 
mediate correction. The resulting feeling of dissatisfaction at hav- 
ing missed the word, plus the concentrated attack on remedying the 
exact difficulty, more than outweighs any disadvantage rising from 
the initial misspelling " (H-61). 

3 Composition spelling tests. Occasionally the teacher will 
find a composition spelling test a valuable investment of time ; for, 
after all, the real test of a child's spelling ability is whether or ngt 
he spells correctly in his written work when his chief thought is on 
what he is trying to express. An excellent plan for making such 
tests is described in the Teachers' Manual of the Detroit Course of 
Study in Spelling. (See bibliography) 

4 Teaching new words and reteaching words previously 
taught. Two plans are submitted below : in many respects they 
are identical. The chief difference lies in the fact that the second 
plan provides for teaching new words only to those pupils who do 

[23] 



not know how to spell them. It saves the time of the child who has 
already learned the word outside the spelling class. 

"Plan P Steps in Teaching Spelling. 

" Write one of the new words on the blackboard and teach it in 
accordance with the following plan. Then erase it and write the 
next word, teaching it in the same way. Continue in this way 
throughout the list. 

" a While writing the word, pronounce it distinctly. 

" b Develop the meaning orally either by calling for a sentence 
using the word or by giving its definition. 

" c Divide the word into syllables. Call on pupils to spell orally 
by syllables. Have them indicate what part of the word presents 
difficulties, or whether the word contains parts they already know. 

" d Have pupils write the word on practice paper several times, 
spelling it softly as they write. 

" e Allow the class a moment in which to look at the word again, 
and then have them close their eyes and try to visualize it, or use any 
other device of a similar nature. Have considerable repetition, both 
oral and written." 

" Plan 2^° How Can a Teacher Teach Spelling f 

(In teaching spelling the teacher is active and working with the 
class, there being no class study period.) 

" a First test the entire class with written spelling on each new 
lesson. Excuse those children who have perfect scores on this test 
from the day's teaching exercises. However, present these same 
words in the spelling lists on succeeding days. Do not excuse children 
from the monthly tests. 

" b After selecting the children who are to be taught, select the 
particular words in the list which these children have misspelled. 

" c Write each word to be taught in a given lesson on the board or 
present it on a card. Not more than one word should be before the 
child at a time. The word should be written without diacritical 
marks to indicate syllabication. 

, " rf The teacher should pronounce the word, enunciating the 
syllables clearly. The pupils should pronounce the word in concert, 
enunciating syllables distinctly. Different individual pupils should 
pronounce the word. 

" e Have pupil examine the word for difficult or familiar parts. 
Apply any spelling rule previously taught. 



9 Tidyman. The Teaching of Spelling, p. 146. This plan was presented by 
the author through the courtesy of Mr H. C. Pearson, principal, Horace Mann 
School. 

10 Woody. Annual of Washington Educational Association, 1918, p. 79, 80. 

[24] 



" f Discuss the meaning of the word and have various pupils use it 
in sentences. 

" g Have pupils look at the word and close their eyes and try to 
recall how the word looks, pronouncing the syllables in a whisper. 

" h Let them open their eyes and check with the correct form on the 
board (recall). Ask ' how many had the correct spelling? ' 

" i Erase this word and present the next word, and proceed 
through steps c, d, e, f, g and h in a similar manner. Continue this 
process until the list of new words is exhausted. 

" i After presenting each of the new words in the above manner, 
proceed with each old word, through steps c, d, g and h. 

" k Get new impressions and recall for each word in the list by 
presenting the words and proceeding through steps c, d, g and h. 
Repeat the process once more. 

" / Present one word for a moment, and have the child write it 
from memory, checking with the correct form. 

" m After all words in the lesson have been taught in the given 
manner test as indicated in section 5. 

" n Frequently call to the attention of the children that this method 
should be followed in their independent study." 

5 Testing the teaching of spelling. The two plans outlined 
above emphasize five essentials of good spelling teaching the value of 
which every successful teacher recognizes, namely: visual imagery 
of the word, correct pronunciation, stress on syllabication, writing 
the word, and correct understanding of its meaning or use. These 
plans assume that the spelling period is a teaching and not a testing 
period. The teacher should, at times, test the result of her work. 
The following suggestions have been found helpful : 

a One recitation period out of five is sufficient for testing. 

b As a rule all tests should be written. 

c Written lessons or tests may include test words dictated in 
sentences, or in longer exercises. Composition spelling tests are 
valuable teaching devices but do not measure direct results from 
teaching certain word lists. 

d Pupils should occasionally be tested on their individual lists. 

e There should be general reviews monthly or oftener. These 
may be oral or written. The spelling match or contest usually adds 
interest. 

/ At least twice each year the teacher or supervisor should use a 
standardized spelling test or scale. (P'urther use of this device is 
given in method no. 10.) 

6 Oral versus written spelling. Oral spelling as a means of 
testing should have little place above the primary grades except in the 

[25] 



" spelling match." As a means of teaching, however, oral spelling 
does have an important place as is shown in the plans for teaching 
outlined above. 

7 " Rules can not replace direct instruction in spelling, even 
in the case of words covered by them" (H-55). Experimental 
evidence indicates that teaching rules contribute very little to the 
learning of spelling. Time should better be expended on the direct 
study of words covered by the rule. Until such time as this question 
has been more thoroughly investigated teachers probably need not 
stress more than the following five rules (W— 81) (D-58-59). 
These should be taught inductively : 

1 A word of one syllable ending in a single consonant after a 
single vowel, or a word of more than one syllable having the accent 
on the last syllable, double the consonant before adding a suffix ; as 
" running " or " occurring." 

2 A word ending in silent c usually drops the r before a suffix 
beginning with a vowel ; as " giving." 

3 c follows / except after c or when sounded as a. as in " weigh." 

4 A word ending in y after a consonant usually changes y to i 
before most suffixes excej)! those beginning with /', as " dried," 
" drying." 

5 A word ending in y after a vowel usually does not change the y 
before a suffix ; as " displayed." 

8 Teaching pupils how to study. The greatest thing the 
teacher can do is to teach the children how to attack and learn new 
words without the teacher's help. Teaching the correct use of the 
dictionary is a part of this work. Getting the child consciously to 
try different methods of study is a valualile means of focusing his 
attention on economical methods of study. The following nine rules 
should be made a part of the child's working method (H-72) : 

" 1 The first step in learning to spell a word is to pronounce it cor- 
rectly. If you do not know how to pronounce a word, look up the 
pronunciation in the dictionary. When you are certain that you 
know the word is jironounced, pronounce it, enunciating each syllable 
distinctly and looking closely at each syllable as you say it. 

" 2 Close your eyes and try to recall how the word looks, syllable by 
syllable, as you pronounce it in a whisper. In pronouncing the word 
be sure to enunciate the syllables carefully. 

" 3 Open your eyes to make sure that }'0u were able to recall the 
correct spelling. 

" 4 Look at the word again, enunciating the syllables distinctly. 

" 5 Recall again, with closed eyes, how the word looked. 

[26] 



" 6 Check again with the correct form. This recall (as in 2 and 5) 
should be repeated at least three times, and oftener if you have diffi- 
cult}' in recalling the correct form of the word. 

" 7 When you feel sure that you have learned the word, write it 
without looking at the book, and then check with the correct form. 

" 8 Repeat this two or more times without looking either at the 
book or at your previous attempts. 

" 9 If you miss the word on either of these trials, you should copy 
it in your spelling notebook, since it probably is especially difficult 
for you." 

9 Supervising pupils' study of spelling. Pupils should have a 
definite period for studying spelling. In the graded school, the 
teacher should spend this time observing each child's method of work, 
quietly eliminating wrong methods, keeping up interest, making pro- 
vision for individual differences. The teacher of many grades in a 
one-room school while directing the work of another class can keep 
her eye on the pupils' studying and can often offer the individual-help 
or suggestion implied in " supervised study." The teacher's super- 
vision of pupils' study of spelling consists largely of making sure that 
the pupils are putting the nine rules given above into practice so far 
as each individual needs them. 

10 The use of standardized spelling tests. Standardized 
spelling tests or, scales are an improvement over other tests in two 
ways: (o) they contain only those words vv^hich every child should 
learn to spell before he leaves the pul)lic schools and {b) they are 
graded according to known difficulty. The Ayres Spelling Scale is 
the most widely used in elementary schools. Teachers can select 
well-standardized lists of words for any grade from this scale. Such 
tests given every month or every two months help pupils to know 
what progress they are making and whether they are doing as well 
as pupils of the same grade in other schools. The New York State 
Spelling Scales used two or three times each year help the teacher to 
know (a) how much her pupils have lost during vacation ; (b) how 
much they g^in from time to time. 

Superintendent Sherman L. Howe^^ found a very eft'ective means 
of using standardized spelling tests. In his seventh and eighth 
grades he gave a standardized test (list of words of known difficulty 
from the Ayres Scale) each month. Any child who measured one 
year above standard was excused from the spelling class for one 
month and could devote the spelling period to other school subjects 



11 Formerly of Carthage, N. Y. 

[27] 



or to library reading. Each month, however, he must come back 
for the standardized test. If he passed at the desired standing he 
was excused for another month ; if he dropped down he had to come 
into the class again until he had achieved the desired excellence. This 
plan had two very good features : ( 1 ) it gave those children who 
already were proficient in spelling a chance to expend their time at 
something profitable to themselves; (2) pupils excused from the 
spelling class were obliged, on their own initiative, to give attention 
to the study of spelling. In order to avoid falling down on the next 
standard test they had to learn to spell practically every new word 
they met. Teachers of every subject kept this ideal constantly before 
such pupils. In this way they were developing a new vocabulary 
much faster than the regular spelling class and were at the same 
time learning to spell without the teacher's direct guidance. 

Summary — Practices of the Superior Teacher 

The superior teacher is a student. She is continuously searching 
for better ways or means of improving her work. She studies care- 
fully the methods and procedure which others have found successful ; 
and she does not hesitate to experiment with new plans or methods 
that promise success. While her procedure in teaching spelling 
varies somewhat according to local conditions, in the main she 
adheres quite closely to the following principles : 

1 How spelling is taught is much more important than the time 
allotted to it. Seventy-five minutes a week is a sufficient allotment 
for study and recitation of spelling. 

2 The number of recitations a week should not exceed five and in 
one-room schools, where consolidation of class periods is necessary, 
the number of periods may be lessened. 

3 A "minimal spelling vocabulary" is essential. Children should 
learn to spell the words they need to express their thoughts in writing. 

4 The spelling textbook should be based on the result of wide and 
careful investigation as to what words are used in writing. It should 
also be graded according to the difficulty of words, and to the vocabu- 
lary needs of children. The superior teacher will use no other 
textbook. 

5 Words which children need in order to succeed in any subject 
of any grade should be taught through the spelling class of that 
grade. 

6 A systematic plan for learning words misspelled in children's 
written work should be followed. Use of the pupil's individual 
spelling notebook is one device for increasing the pupil's efficiency in 
overcoming his own spelling difficulties. 

[28] 



7 A few words well taught daily gives pupils ultimately a much 
better spelling vocabulary than does a large number of words assigned 
daily but poorly taught. 

8 The daily assignment should include for each pupil the words 
of the previous lessons he has forgotten. 

9 The time of pupils may be economized by testing them with 
the new words and having them study only such words as they 
misspell. 

10 An important method of review is to insert the list of review 
words in a paragraph or sentences to be dictated. 

11 In teaching new words, the successful teacher causes the pupil 
to get a visual image of the word, to pronounce it correctly, to see it 
in syllables, to write it, and to understand its correct meaning or use. 

12 Spelling tests should usually be written. Not more than one 
period out of five should be devoted to testing. There should be 
written reviews monthly or oftener. 

13 Oral work is a valuable means of teaching. Oral testing 
should not be used except in the occasional oral contest. 

14 Very few rules should be taught and these only after much 
direct teaching of the words which the rule involves. 

15 The teacher's greatest problem is to teach pupils how to study 
spelling, how to learn the spelling of new words they meet in their 
reading. For upper grade pupils, this involves teaching them how 
to use the dictionary. 

16 It is important that the teacher supervise pupils' studying of 
spelling in order that she may eliminate wrong methods and develop 
right methods of study. 

17 Through the use of standardized spelling scales, pupils' time 
may be economized, pupils may be encouraged to develop initiative 
in learning to spell without the teacher's aid and the teacher can as 
often as seems desirable secure a check on how well her pupils' 
achievement compares with standards that should be attained. 

Bibliography 

(B) Ballou. The Teaching of Spelling. School Document 
No. 17. 1916. Boston Public Schools. 

Bulletin states briefly the conclusions drawn from a number of experiments 
in the teaching of spelling carried on under the direction of the department 
of educational investigation and measurement. 

(C) Courtis. A Tentative Course of Study in Spelling — 
Teacher's Manual. Detroit Public Schools. 1919. 

Contains many suggestions for teachers, and a well-selected, well-graded 
spelling vocabulary. One of the most helpful parts is the description of 
" The use of games " in teaching of spelling. 

[29] 



(D) Davis. The Technique of Teaching'. Macmillan. New 
York. 1922. 

Chapter 2, The Teaching of Spelling, contains helpful discussion of spelling 
with methods and devices for teaching. 
(H) Horn. Principles of Method in Teaching Spelling as 

Derived from Scientific Investigation. Eighteenth Yearbook, 
National Society for Study of Education, Part 2, 1919. Public 
School Pubhshing Co., Bloomington. 111. 

Was a chapter of the fourth report of the committee on economy of time 
in education. It lists 41 principles of method and gives brief discussion of 
experimental evidence underlying each principle. Has a bibliography of 
133 numbers. 
(K M) Kendall & Mirick. 1>aching the Fundamental Sub- 
jects. Houghton. New York. 1915. p. 122-44. 

Spelling was treated as a subdivision of English. A brief comprehensive 
discussion of how to teach spelling. Gives two type lessons. 
(P) Pryor. A Suggested Minimal Spelliiig List. Sixteenth 
Yearl)ook. National Society for Study of Education, Part 1, 
Chap. 5. ]'u1)lic .School Publishing Co., Bloomington, 111. 

Chapter in second report of committee on minimal essentials in elementary 
school bubjects. Contains a minimal list of 1478 words arranged by grades. 
(P P) Pryor and Pittman. A Cuide to the Teaching of Spelling. 
Macmillan Co., New York. 1921. 

The authors state, " The primary purpose of this book is to help teachers 
to improve the quality of their teaching of spelling. While it has been 
written with the problems of the inexperienced teacher foremost in mind, 
it is believed that it may be of substantial value to experienced teachers as 
well." It is a book that the classroom teacher will read and can use. 
(P) Pittman. Successful Teaching in Rural Schools. Amer. 
Book Co. New York. 1922. 

Chapter 1 1, pages 120-28. describes method and value of having children 
make their own spelling lists of words based on "historical, agricultural and 
social interests of the community." Chapter 22, pages 245-57, discusses the 
value of a " minimal spelling list " and describes how the " spelling test " 
was used to bring rural patrons together for consideration of other questions. 
(S) Suzzallo. The Teaching of Spelling. Houghton. 1911. 

A small volume. Represented the best thought on spelling 10 j'ears ago. 
Agrees for the most part with the results of experimental work that have 
been carried on since its publication. 
(T) Tidyman, The Teaching of Spelling. ^^V)rld Book Co., 
1919. 

One of the most helpful books on the teaching of spelling that is available 
to teachers. Its discussion of almost every question that may arise con- 
cerning the teaching of spelling is based on a wide classroom experience and 
much experimental evidence. 
(W) Woody. Report on Spelling. Annual of the Washington 
Educational Assn. 1918. 

Is similar in outline to report of " spelling in New York Rural Schools." 

Contains many concrete suggestions from which quotations have been freely 

made in New York report. 

(Th) Thomdike. The Teachers Word Book. Bureau of 

Publications. Teachers College. Columbia Universitv, New York. 

1922. 

Contains an alphabetic list of the 10,000 words most used in English writing. 

[30J 



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